Speaking at the listing of the FGN 30 year $1.5 billion Eurobond and FGN 10-year $1.5 billion Eurobond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in December 2017, Oniha had said the federal government will rebalance its domestic and foreign debt portfolio.

The DG explained that foreign debt would account for 40% of the country’s debt, which would reduce the cost of borrowing. At present, foreign borrowings account for 23% of the country’s debt.

She said the proposed $5.5 billion would be divided into two phases; $2.5 billion as external borrowing for the 2017 budget and $3 billion to repay some of the existing domestic debt.

However, the United States recently increased interest rates, which means that the country might pay higher interest on its fresh loans as compared to 2017 borrowings.